QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Whitefish, MT

USGS: 1 km N of Olney, Montana

9:30 am MDT, Oct 20, 2019 · · 9.5 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Whitefish Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Flathead County 49 kmLincoln County 65 kmSanders County 101 kmLake County 109 kmGlacier County 118 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
9:30 am MDT on 20 October 2019 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT · earthquakes near Whitefish
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
9.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Flathead County, 49 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2538 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) NW of Whitefish, MT, at 9:30 am MDT on 20 October 2019 (15:30 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 48.5658, -114.5757. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Flathead County, MT 49 km (30 mi) SE earthquakes near Flathead County
Lincoln County, MT 65 km (41 mi) W earthquakes near Lincoln County
Sanders County, MT 101 km (62 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sanders County
Lake County, MT 109 km (68 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County
Glacier County, MT 118 km (73 mi) E earthquakes near Glacier County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

23 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 6 km NNE of Olney, Montana
  2. 2.0 1 km ENE of Columbia Falls, Montana
  3. 1.6 Western Montana
  4. 2.2 19 km E of Indian Springs, Montana
  5. 1.7 11 km NW of Batavia, Montana
  6. 1.6 12 km NNW of Batavia, Montana
  7. 1.6 13 km WNW of Marion, Montana
  8. 1.7 18 km NW of Marion, Montana
  9. 2.1 10 km SW of Whitefish, Montana
  10. 1.9 3 km NNW of Coram, Montana
  11. 1.6 2 km NNE of Coram, Montana
  12. 1.6 10 km SSW of Whitefish, Montana
  13. 2.6 7 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana
  14. 3.2 19 km ENE of Stryker, Montana
  15. 2.1 4 km WSW of Whitefish, Montana

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.